


Choices

by MorganaNK



Category: Inspector Lynley - All Media Types, Inspector Lynley Mysteries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28017117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorganaNK/pseuds/MorganaNK
Summary: A fic set during during the series around the episodes 'For The Sake Of Elena' and 'Missing Joseph'.
Relationships: Barbara Havers/Thomas Lynley, Helen Clyde/Thomas Lynley
Comments: 3
Kudos: 17





	Choices

**Author's Note:**

> Property of Elizabeth George and the BBC, no copyright infringement intended

I’ve spent days weighing up the pros and cons. My heart is telling me one thing, and my mind is telling me another.

Helen or Barbara? 

Helen or Barbara?

With Helen I know what I am getting. She has the right breeding, a phrase I hate but it’s true. She knows how to make polite conversation, the right cutlery to use with which course, and she is what is expected of me, what my family have drilled into me from an early age that I should look for in a wife and countess.

And then there’s Barbara.

With Barbara every day is a rollercoaster. One minute we are the best of friends, the next we are arguing like it’s an Olympic sport. She is scruffy, prickly, and consumes food as if every meal will be her last. 

When things are laid out like that, there doesn’t appear to be much of a choice. If only it were that simple.

For all her good points, Helen can be sullen and childish. If she doesn’t feel that she’s the centre of attention, then she can lose her temper or sulk. She considers emotions as a weakness and takes great pleasure in emasculating me.

Barbara also has another side, a loving and caring side. She is great with children, and she continually surprises me with her empathy and practical nature. And she supports me, no matter what. We can be at odds personally, but if someone attacks me, she backs me to the hilt.

I’ve tried testing the waters with Barbara and received mixed messages in return. When I tried to kiss her, she nearly beat the record for the four-minute mile, but when I stood in my hotel room, my skin wet from my shower, a towel slung low on my hips, she looked as if she were fighting the urge to jump me.

She also seems determined to convince me that Helen and I are in love.

Mother is dropping very unsubtle hints that I need to marry and start work on producing the next Lynley heir. She’s also dropping hints that it’s about time I came home and started taking care of my responsibilities as the eighth earl of Asherton. If I marry, perhaps that will buy me some time.

I’m not sure I want to leave the force. What’s more worrying, I’m not sure I want to leave Barbara.


End file.
